From Twitter...

Oy vey. I’ve picked up a very bad verbal tic (and no, it’s not “oy vey”). I am (probably) overly sensitive to people’s verbal tics, so it’s something I tend to notice in myself. (Thanks, Caroline Kennedy, ya know? And you betcha, Sarah Palin). I’ve run the gamut, too: “Jeez” made an appearance for a while, “Oh My” was on the list for a couple of months, and of course, the usual “God”, “Woah” (a la Joey), and assorted other phrases have worked their way into my vernacular. The most recent one, though, is even annoying to me.

I’ve started saying “Yikes”. A LOT. I’ve noticed myself saying it out loud to no one in particular in reference to just about everything. Bad hair day? Yikes. Noisy dog? Yikes. Too much junk mail? Big yikes. I realize that everybody has their own personal go-to phrase, but most people mix it up a little. I’m in desperate need of a new phrase, because if I continue down this path, I’m gonna punch myself in the face. Yikes.